Thermal insulating profile

ABSTRACT

A thermal insulating profile includes: a first profile portion made of metal; a second profile portion made of metal; a thermal insulating material made of a foaming resin material, the thermal insulating material being configured to couple the first profile portion and the second profile portion to each other; an injection port formed, along a longitudinal direction of the thermal insulating profile, between the first profile portion and the second profile portion; and a closing member disposed at the injection port to close the injection port.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and incorporates by referencethe entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-049811 filedin Japan on Mar. 15, 2017.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a thermal insulating profile that constitutesa construction member such as a frame member and a stile member forwindows.

2. Related Art

In the related art, a thermal insulating profile manufactured as followsis known (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 9-291756).First, in an aluminum extruded member formed by an outdoor member, anindoor member, and a coupling portion that couples the indoor andoutdoor members to each other, a urethane resin is injected into athermal insulating material injection pocket portion (cavity) having aconcave groove shape surrounded by the indoor and outdoor members andthe coupling portion. Next, after the urethane resin cures (issolidified) to be a thermal insulating material, the coupling portionbetween the outdoor member and the indoor member is cut and removed witha cutter or such other tools. The thermal insulating profilemanufactured in this manner is used as a frame member for a sash window.

An injection port in the thermal insulating material injection pocketportion is opened along the longitudinal direction of the thermalinsulating profile. An injection nozzle for the urethane resin isdisposed above the injection port to inject the urethane resin into theinjection pocket portion.

SUMMARY

After the urethane resin is injected into the injection pocket portionin the thermal insulating profile described in Japanese Laid-open PatentPublication No. 9-291756, the injection port remains unclosed, and hencethe urethane resin, which is foamed when curing, may protrude from theinjection port. This makes it difficult to employ a foaming resinmaterial made of such a urethane resin.

The thermal insulating material obtained when the urethane resin curesis exposed in the injection port, and hence time and effort arenecessary to finish the exposed surface part of the thermal insulatingmaterial. The material and the color of the exposed surface part arelimited by the thermal insulating material, and hence it is difficult toincrease the number of variations of the finished state.

It is desirable to provide a thermal insulating profile that can employa thermal insulating material formed from a foaming resin material, thatcan eliminate burden of finishing a surface part exposed from aninjection port, and that can increase the number of variations of thefinished state of the surface part.

It is an object of the disclosure to at least partially solve theproblems in the conventional technology.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a thermal insulating profileincludes: a first profile portion made of metal; a second profileportion made of metal; a thermal insulating material made of a foamingresin material, the thermal insulating material being configured tocouple the first profile portion and the second profile portion to eachother; an injection port formed, along a longitudinal direction of thethermal insulating profile, between the first profile portion and thesecond profile portion; and a closing member disposed at the injectionport to close the injection port.

With the thermal insulating profile according to the disclosure, in themanufacturing of the thermal insulating profile, the foaming resinmaterial in the liquid state can be injected into a region between thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion through theinjection port, and then the injection port can be closed by the closingmember. Thus, the foaming resin material, which is foamed when curing,can be prevented from protruding from the injection port, and hence athermal insulating profile including a thermal insulating materialobtained by foaming and curing the foaming resin material can bemanufactured.

The outer surface of the closing member, rather than the thermalinsulating material, is exposed from the injection port. Thus, byfinishing the outer surface of the closing member in advance, time andeffort for finishing treatment after the thermal insulating profile ismanufactured can be eliminated. Furthermore, by selecting the materialand the color of the closing member as appropriate, the number ofvariations of the outer surface of the closing member can be increasedto improve the design of the thermal insulating profile.

The closing member can obtain the closing force by the foaming pressureof the foaming resin material, and hence the necessity of a mold closingdevice or jig can be eliminated. This leads to the omission of a moldopening step or a jig removal step after the curing step, and theproductivity can be improved and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the thermal insulating profile according to another aspect of thedisclosure, the thermal insulating material may be formed of a foamingresin material having an expansion ratio of 3 to 5.

This configuration employs the foaming resin material to be injectedthrough the injection port, which has an expansion ratio (expansionratio in free state) of 3 to 5, and hence can reduce the amount ofinjection as compared with the case where a nonfoamable resin materialis employed. A low-foaming resin material having an expansion ratiosmaller than that of a general foaming resin material (such as a hardurethane foam having a free expansion ratio of 30 or more (density of 25kg/m³)) cures, and hence a thermal insulating material having strengthnecessary as a construction member can be formed.

The above-mentioned foaming resin material in the disclosure can improvethermal insulating performance as compared with the case where anonfoamable resin material is employed.

Specifically, the foaming resin material has a smaller amount of straingenerated inside a molded product than a nonfoamable resin material, andhence after the foaming resin material is foamed and cures, the amountof resin shrinkage (dry shrinkage) is reduced. In the foaming resinmaterial, the resin itself functions as a stress buffer, and hence aninterface stress between the aluminum profile and the foaming resinmaterial is reduced. Thus, the force acting in the direction in whichthe foaming resin material shrinks along the longitudinal direction ofthe thermal insulating profile after the foaming resin material isfoamed and cures can be reduced to suppress the occurrence ofdeformation such as warpage and bending of the thermal insulatingprofile and cracks of the thermal insulating material.

In the thermal insulating profile according to still another aspect ofthe disclosure, the first profile portion and the second profile portioneach may include a portion to be hooked, and the closing member mayinclude a closing body portion disposed at the injection port and ahooking portion configured to be hooked to portions to be hooked of thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion.

This configuration enables the hooking portion of the closing member tobe hooked to the portions to be hooked of the first profile portion andthe second profile portion, and hence the closing body portion can bedisposed at the injection port, and the injection port can be easilyclosed.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, the hooking portion may include engaging protrusionsthat are elastically deformable, and the engaging protrusions mayinclude distal end portions provided with claw portions to be engagedwith the portions to be hooked of the first profile portion and thesecond profile portion.

This configuration enables the closing member to be pushed into theinjection port from a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal directionof the first profile portion and the second profile portion, and hencethe engaging protrusions can be pushed to the portions to be hooked ofthe first profile portion and the second profile portion and elasticallydeformed, so that the claw portions can be engaged with the respectiveportions to be hooked. The closing member can be easily mounted to thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion in a snap-fitmanner.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, the hooking portion may have a pair of the engagingprotrusions, a protruding length dimension of the pair of the engagingprotrusions between the closing body portion and the claw portions maybe larger than a thickness dimension of the portions to be hooked of thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion, a dimension from asurface of one of the pair of the engaging protrusions that faces theportion to be hooked to a surface of another of the pair of the engagingprotrusions that faces the portion to be hooked may be smaller than awidth dimension of the injection port, and a dimension between distalends of the claw portions along a width direction of the injection portmay be larger than the width dimension of the injection port.

This configuration enables air escaping gaps to be formed between theclosing member and the first profile portion and between the closingmember and the second profile portion in a non-abutting state in whichthe claw portions of the pair of engaging protrusions are separated fromthe portions to be hooked of the first profile portion and the secondprofile portion. Thus, when the foaming resin material is foamed, theair can be efficiently escaped to the outside through the gaps.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, the closing member may include a backing protrusion forthe engaging protrusions, the backing protrusion protruding from theclosing body portion.

This configuration enables the foaming resin material to enter betweenthe engaging protrusions and the backing protrusion to cure when thefoaming resin material is foamed, so that the foaming resin materialserves as a backing member that receives the engaging protrusions. Byforming the backing member in this manner, the closing member can bemore firmly hooked to the first profile portion and the second profileportion.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, an air escaping groove may be formed between theengaging protrusions and the closing body portion.

This configuration enables the air to be escaped into theabove-mentioned air escaping grooves when the foaming resin material isfoamed, and hence the foaming resin material can be efficiently foamed.Thus, the generation of air holes (air gaps) in the cavity can beprevented, and the foaming resin material can be evenly filled into thecavity between the first profile portion and the second profile portion.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, a part of the engaging protrusions that abuts on theportions to be hooked of the first profile portion and the secondprofile portion may be formed from a soft resin material, and theclosing member may be formed from a hard resin material except for thepart formed from the soft resin material.

This configuration enables the parts of the engaging protrusions thatare formed from the soft resin material to be brought into intimatecontact with the portions to be hooked of the first profile portion andthe second profile portion. Thus, the sealing degree by which theinjection port is closed by the closing member can be improved.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, a part of the closing member that abuts on a portion tobe hooked of one of the first profile portion and the second profileportion may be formed from a soft resin material, and a part of theclosing member that abuts on a portion to be hooked of another of thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion may be formed froma hard resin material.

This configuration enables, while the part of the closing member that isformed from the soft resin material is pushed against one portion to behooked, the part of the closing member that is formed from the hardresin material to be pushed to the other portion to be hooked side, andhence the closing member can be easily positioned when the closingmember is mounted. The closing member can be easily mounted with a smallforce.

The part of the closing member that is formed from the soft resinmaterial reacts against the one portion to be hooked, and hence the partof the closing member that is formed from the hard resin material ispushed against the other portion to be hooked. Thus, the sealing degreeby which the injection port is closed by the closing member can beimproved.

In the thermal insulating profile according to further another aspect ofthe disclosure, open cells that are continuous from an inner surface ona thermal insulating material side to an outer surface on an exteriorside may be formed in the closing member.

This configuration enables the air to be escaped to the outside throughthe open cells when the foaming resin material is foamed.

In the thermal insulating profile, a cavity may be formed between thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion, the closing membermay include an abutment piece portion configured to abut on the firstprofile portion or the second profile portion in the cavity, and theabutment piece portion may be configured to partition the cavity into athermal insulating space in which the thermal insulating material isdisposed and a hollow space.

This configuration enables the cavity to be partitioned by the abutmentpiece portion of the closing member into the thermal insulating spaceand the hollow space. Thus, a screw hole or the like may be formed inthe hollow space, and the thermal insulating material that couples thefirst profile portion and the second profile portion to each other canbe disposed near the screw hole or the like.

The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance of this disclosure will be better understood byreading the following detailed description of presently preferredembodiments of the disclosure, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a thermal insulating profileaccording to a first embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a closing member for the thermalinsulating profile according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of manufacturing thethermal insulating profile according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a sectional view illustrating a preparation/pre-heating stepfor manufacturing the thermal insulating profile according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4B is a sectional view illustrating a surface treatment step formanufacturing the thermal insulating profile according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5A is a sectional view illustrating an injection step formanufacturing the thermal insulating profile according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5B is a sectional view illustrating a closing step formanufacturing the thermal insulating profile according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C are sectional views illustrating principal portionsof thermal insulating profiles according to second to fourth embodimentsof the disclosure, respectively;

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are sectional views illustrating principal portionsof a thermal insulating profile according to a fifth embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are sectional views illustrating principal portionsof thermal insulating profiles according to sixth and seventhembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9A is a sectional view illustrating principal portions of a thermalinsulating profile according to an eighth embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C are sectional views illustrating principal portionsof a thermal insulating profile according to a ninth embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are sectional views illustrating principalportions of a thermal insulating profile according to a tenth embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are sectional views of principal portions ofthermal insulating profiles according to eleventh and twelfthembodiments of the disclosure, respectively;

FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are sectional views illustrating principalportions of thermal insulating profiles according to thirteenth andfourteenth embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are sectional views illustrating principalportions of thermal insulating profiles according to fifteenth andsixteenth embodiments of the disclosure, respectively;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view illustrating a thermal insulating profileaccording to a seventeenth embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 15 is a sectional view illustrating a thermal insulating profileaccording to an eighteenth embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the disclosure is described below with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, a thermal insulating profile 1 according to the firstembodiment is used as frame materials and stile materials for variouskinds of sash windows. The thermal insulating profile 1 includes a firstprofile portion 20 on the outdoor side, a second profile portion 30 onthe indoor side, and a thermal insulating material 50 made of a foamingresin material that couples the first profile portion 20 and the secondprofile portion 30 to each other.

The first profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30 areformed by dividing (partitioning) an aluminum profile 10 formed of anextruded profile as a metal profile into an outdoor member and an indoormember, respectively.

A cavity 40A in which a thermal insulating material 50 is disposed isformed between the first profile portion 20 and the second profileportion 30.

A pair of extended piece portions 41A and 42A that are extended to theindoor side are formed at an indoor-side part of the first profileportion 20. A pair of extended piece portions 41B and 42B that areextended to the outdoor side are formed at an outdoor-side part of thesecond profile portion 30.

An injection port 43 along the longitudinal direction of the firstprofile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30 is formed betweenthe extended piece portions 41A and 41B.

A gap 44 along the longitudinal direction of the first profile portion20 and the second profile portion 30 is formed between the extendedpiece portions 42A and 42B.

Portions to be hooked 45A and 45B to which a closing member 60 describedlater is to be hooked are formed on the extended piece portions 41A and41B, respectively.

A part of the first profile portion 20 where the cavity 40A is formed(extended piece portions 41A and 42A and part therebetween) and a partof the second profile portion 30 where the cavity 40A is formed(extended piece portions 41B and 42B and part therebetween) each have athickness dimension of 1.0 mm, preferably 1.4 to 2.0 mm.

In the present embodiment, the cavity 40A has a sectional area of 40mm², preferably 60 to 2,000 mm².

The thermal insulating material 50 in the present embodiment is formedby foaming and curing a foaming resin material 51 (see FIGS. 5A and 5B)whose expansion ratio in a free state is 3 to 5 in the cavity 40A. Thefoaming resin material 51 is made of a foamable urethane resin materialin a liquid state. The thermal insulating material 50 has a tensilestrength of 3 MPa or more as the resin strength necessary for couplingthe first profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30 to eachother.

The thermal insulating profile 1 (thermal insulating aluminum profile)described above has a configuration in which the first profile portion20 and the second profile portion 30 are partitioned from each other andare coupled to each other through the thermal insulating material 50.Thus, heat transfer between the first profile portion 20 and the secondprofile portion 30 is interrupted by the thermal insulating material 50.

In the injection port 43 formed between the first profile portion 20 andthe second profile portion 30, a closing member 60 made of hard resinconfigured to close the injection port 43 is disposed.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the closing member 60 includes a plate-shapedclosing body portion 61 disposed at the injection port 43 and a hookingportion 62 that is hooked to the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B ofthe first profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30.

The outer surface of the closing body portion 61 exposed from theinjection port 43 is subjected to finishing treatment, and the outersurface is disposed to be flush with the outer surfaces of the extendedpiece portions 41A and 41B.

The hooking portion 62 is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions 63and 64 that are elastically deformable.

At distal end portions of the engaging protrusions 63 and 64, clawportions 63A and 64A to be engaged with the portions to be hooked 45Aand 45B are formed, respectively. The engaging protrusions 63 and 64have equal protruding length dimensions. A dimension W1 between distalends of the claw portions 63A and 64A along the width direction of theinjection port 43 is larger than a width dimension W2 of the injectionport 43 between the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B.

In the present embodiment, the distal end portions of the engagingprotrusions 63 and 64 are round-chamfered to have an R of 0.8 or more,and the inclination angle of inclined surfaces of the engagingprotrusions 63 and 64 with respect to the protruding direction thereofis set within the range of 45° to 60°. The round chamfering and thesetting of the inclination angle can suppress the occurrence of removalof the closing member 60 and cracks in the hooking portion 62 due to theapplication of pressure to the inclined surfaces in the foaming andcuring process of the foaming resin material 51.

Method of Manufacturing Thermal Insulating Profile

Referring to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5B, a method of manufacturing a thermalinsulating profile according to the first embodiment is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 1 is manufactured through stepsillustrated in FIG. 3, specifically, a preparation/pre-heating step S1for preparing and pre-heating an aluminum profile 10, a surfacetreatment step S2 for treating the surface of a part of the aluminumprofile 10 where a cavity 40A is to be formed, an injection step S3 forinjecting a foaming resin material 51, a closing step S4 for closing theinjection port 43, a curing step S5 for curing the foaming resinmaterial 51, and a dividing step S6 for dividing the aluminum profile10.

At the preparation/pre-heating step S1, the aluminum profile 10 isdisposed at a predetermined position for preparation. In the aluminumprofile 10, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the injection port 43 is formedbetween the extended piece portions 41A and 41B, but the extended pieceportions 42A and 42B are not divided and a continuous piece portion 42is formed. Thus, the first profile portion 20 and the second profileportion 30 are continuous through a continuous piece portion 42. Theprepared aluminum profile 10 is pre-heated to 40° C. or more.

At the surface treatment step S2, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, a surfaceof the aluminum profile 10 where the cavity 40A is to be formed issubjected to surface modification by discharge treatment such as coronadischarge treatment and plasma discharge treatment by using a surfacetreatment device 55. The surface where the cavity 40A is to be formed isdefined by inner surfaces of the extended piece portions 41A and 41B, aninner surface of the continuous piece portion 42, an indoor surface of apart of the first profile portion 20 between the extended piece portion41A and the continuous piece portion 42, and an outdoor surface of apart of the second profile portion 30 between the extended piece portion41B and the continuous piece portion 42.

At the injection step S3, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, the foaming resinmaterial 51 in the liquid state is injected into the cavity 40A throughthe injection port 43 by using an injection device 52. In the presentembodiment, the filling ratio of the foaming resin material 51 withrespect to the cavity 40A falls within the range of 50% to 60%.

At the closing step S4, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the closing member 60is mounted to the aluminum profile 10 and disposed in the injection port43. Specifically, the closing member 60 is mounted to the aluminumprofile 10 as follows. By pushing the engaging protrusions 63 and 64 ofthe closing member 60 into the injection port 43, the engagingprotrusions 63 and 64 are inserted into the cavity 40A while beingelastically deformed. In this manner, the claw portion 63A of theengaging protrusion 63 is engaged with the portion to be hooked 45A ofthe extended piece portion 41A, and the claw portion 64A of the engagingprotrusion 64 is engaged with the portion to be hooked 45B of theextended piece portion 41B. The closing member 60 is thus mounted to thealuminum profile 10 in a snap-fit manner.

At the curing step S5, the aluminum profile 10 is left for about 10minutes while the closing member 60 is mounted. During the leaving time,the foaming resin material 51 cures while generating heat by itself. Inthis case, the foaming resin material 51 is foamed, and the cavity 40Ais filled with the foaming resin material 51, and by using the foamingpressure of the foaming resin material 51, the sealing force is furtherimproved. The injection port 43 is closed by the closing member 60, andhence the foaming resin material 51 is prevented from protruding fromthe injection port 43. As described above, after the foaming resinmaterial 51 is foamed and cures, the foaming resin material 51 becomesthe thermal insulating material 50.

At the dividing step S6, the continuous piece portion 42 is cut to formthe extended piece portions 42A and 42B, and a gap 44 (see FIG. 1) isformed between the extended piece portions 42A and 42B. In this manner,the thermal insulating profile 1 in which the first profile portion 20and the second profile portion 30 are partitioned from each other andare coupled to each other through the thermal insulating material 50 isformed.

In this manner, the thermal insulating profile 1 is manufactured.

Example

An example of the disclosure is described below.

In the method of manufacturing a thermal insulating profile describedabove, foaming resin materials 51 having expansion ratios in a freestate of 3 to 8 were injected into the cavity 40A at filling ratios of30% to 70% to execute the injection step S3 and manufacture thermalinsulating profiles 1. The finished states and the resin strengths ofthermal insulating materials 50 were compared. The finished state of thethermal insulating material 50 was evaluated as satisfactory when therewas no insufficient filling of the thermal insulating material 50 in thecavity 40A, no protrusion of the thermal insulating material 50 from theinjection port 43, or no deformation of the aluminum profile 10, andevaluated as poor when the such defects occurred. The resin strength ofthe thermal insulating material 50 was evaluated as satisfactory whenthe tensile strength was 3 MPa or more, and evaluated as poor when thetensile strength was less than 3 MPa. The results of the comparison areas illustrated in Table 1 indicating the relation between the freeexpansion ratio (free foam density) of the foaming resin material 51 andthe filling ratio of the foaming resin material 51.

TABLE 1 Filling ratio ≤30% 40% 50% 60% 70%≤ Free 3 to 5 C B A A Cexpansion (400 to 220 ratio kg/m³) (free foam 6 to 8 C C C C C density)(220 to 140 kg/m³)

As illustrated in Table 1, when a foaming resin material 51 having afree expansion ratio of 3 to 5 (free foam density of 400 to 220 kg/m³)was injected into the cavity 40A at a filling ratio of 50% or 60% andcured, it was evaluated that the finished state of the thermalinsulating material 50 was satisfactory and the resin strength was alsosatisfactory. This result was expressed as “A”.

When a foaming resin material 51 having a free expansion ratio of 3 to 5(free foam density of 400 to 220 kg/m³) was injected into the cavity 40Aat a filling ratio of 40% and cured, it was evaluated that the finishedstate of the thermal insulating material 50 was satisfactory while theresin strength was satisfactory in some parts and poor in other parts.This result was expressed as “B”.

When a foaming resin material 51 having a free expansion ratio of 3 to 5(free foam density of 400 to 220 kg/m³) was injected into the cavity 40Aat a filling ratio of 30% and cured, a finished state defect and a resinstrength defect occurred due to insufficient filling of the thermalinsulating material 50 in the cavity 40A. This result was evaluated aspoor and was expressed as “C”.

When a foaming resin material 51 having a free expansion ratio of 3 to 5(free foam density of 400 to 220 kg/m³) was injected into the cavity 40Aat a filling ratio of 70% and cured and when a foaming resin material 51having a free expansion ratio of 6 to 8 (free foam density of 220 to 140kg/m³) was injected into the cavity 40A at a filling ratio of 30%, 40%,50%, 60%, or 70% and cured, finished state defects such as theprotrusion of the thermal insulating material 50 from the injection port43 and the deformation of the aluminum profile 10 and a resin strengthdefect occurred. This result was evaluated as poor and was expressed as“C”.

Effects in First Embodiment

(1) In the first embodiment, the thermal insulating profile 1 includes:the first profile portion 20 made of metal; the second profile portion30 made of metal; the thermal insulating material 50 made of a foamingresin material, the thermal insulating material being configured tocouple the first profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30 toeach other; the injection port 43, along the longitudinal direction ofthe thermal insulating profile 1, between the first profile portion 20and the second profile portion 30, the thermal insulating material 50 ismade of a foaming resin material; and the closing member 60 disposed atthe injection port to close the injection port 43.

With the above-mentioned configuration, in the manufacturing of thethermal insulating profile 1, the foaming resin material 51 in theliquid state can be injected into a region between the first profileportion 20 and the second profile portion 30 through the injection port43, and then the injection port 43 can be closed by the closing member60. Thus, the foaming resin material 51, which is foamed when curing,can be prevented from protruding from the injection port 43, and hencethe thermal insulating profile 1 including the thermal insulatingmaterial 50 obtained by foaming and curing the foaming resin material 51can be manufactured.

The outer surface of the closing member 60, rather than the thermalinsulating material 50, is exposed from the injection port 43. Thus, byfinishing the outer surface of the closing member 60 in advance, timeand effort for finishing treatment after the thermal insulating profile1 is manufactured can be eliminated. Furthermore, by selecting thematerial and the color of the closing member 60 as appropriate, thenumber of variations of the outer surface of the closing member 60 canbe increased to improve the design of the thermal insulating profile 1.

The closing member 60 can obtain the closing force by the foamingpressure of the foaming resin material 51, and hence the necessity of amold closing device or jig can be eliminated. This leads to the omissionof a mold opening step or a jig removal step after the curing step, andthe productivity can be improved and the manufacturing cost can bereduced.

Furthermore, the present embodiment can exhibit the following effects.

(2) In the first embodiment, the thermal insulating material 50 isformed of the foaming resin material 51 having an expansion ratio of 3to 5.

Thus, by employing the foaming resin material 51 having an expansionratio (expansion ratio in free state) of 3 to 5 as the foaming resinmaterial injected through the injection port 43, the amount of injectioncan be reduced as compared with the case where a nonfoamable resinmaterial is employed. A low-foaming resin material 51 having anexpansion ratio smaller than that of a general foaming resin materialcures, and hence a thermal insulating material 50 having strengthnecessary as a construction member can be formed.

The foaming resin material 51 employed in the first embodiment canimprove thermal insulating performance as compared with the case where anonfoamable resin material is employed.

(3) In the first embodiment, the first profile portion 20 and the secondprofile portion 30 include the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B formedthereon, and the closing member 60 includes the closing body portion 61disposed at the injection port 43 and the hooking portion 62 configuredto be hooked to the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the firstprofile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30.

Thus, the closing body portion 61 can be disposed at the injection port43 in a manner that the hooking portion 62 of the closing member 60 ishooked to the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profileportion 20 and the second profile portion 30. Consequently, theinjection port 43 can be easily closed.

(4) In the first embodiment, the hooking portion 62 includes theengaging protrusions 63 and 64 that are elastically deformable, and theengaging protrusions 63 and 64 include distal end portions provided withthe claw portions 63A and 64A to be engaged with the portions to behooked 45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 and the secondprofile portion 30, respectively.

Thus, when the closing member 60 is pushed into the injection port 43from the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the firstprofile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30, the engagingprotrusions 63 and 64 are pushed against the portions to be hooked 45Aand 45B of the first profile portion 20 and the second profile portion30 to be elastically deformed. Consequently, the claw portions 63A and64A can be engaged with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B,respectively, and the closing member 60 can be easily mounted to thefirst profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30 in a snap-fitmanner.

Second Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 6A, a thermal insulating profile 2A according to asecond embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 2A is configured substantially similarlyto the thermal insulating profile 1 in the first embodiment, butincludes a closing member 70A instead of the closing member 60.

The closing member 70A includes a closing body portion 71A disposed atthe injection port 43, and a hooking portion 72A that is hooked to theportions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 andthe second profile portion 30.

The closing body portion 71A is configured similarly to the closing bodyportion 61 in the first embodiment.

The hooking portion 72A bulges to the thermal insulating material 50side from the closing body portion 71A, and claw portions 721A and 722Aengaged with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are formed. A surfaceof the hooking portion 72A on the side of the extended piece portions42A and 42B is formed into an arc shape that is convex toward theextended piece portions 42A and 42B in a sectional view of the thermalinsulating profile 2A illustrated in FIG. 6A.

The closing member 70A is inserted into the injection port 43 from anend portion of the above-mentioned aluminum profile 10 in thelongitudinal direction and is disposed in the injection port 43.

With this configuration, when the foaming resin material 51 injectedinto the cavity 40A is foamed in the manufacturing of the thermalinsulating profile 2A, a foaming pressure applied to the closing member70A from the foaming resin material 51 can be dispersed. Thus, thepossibility of the occurrence of resin cracks in the closing member 70Adue to the foaming pressure can be reduced.

Third Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 6B, a thermal insulating profile 2B according to athird embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 2B is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 1 in the first embodiment, but includes aclosing member 70B instead of the closing member 60.

The closing member 70B includes a closing body portion 71B disposed atthe injection port 43, and a hooking portion 72B that is hooked to theportions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 andthe second profile portion 30.

The closing body portion 71B is configured similarly to the closing bodyportion 61 in the first embodiment.

The hooking portion 72B is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions73B and 74B that are elastically deformable. At distal end portions ofthe engaging protrusions 73B and 74B, claw portions 731B and 741B to beengaged with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are formed,respectively.

Each of distal end portions of the engaging protrusions 73B and 74B isan expanded portion, and a surface of the expanded portion on the sideof the extended piece portions 42A and 42B is formed into an arc shapethat is convex toward the extended piece portions 42A and 42B in asectional view of the thermal insulating profile 2B illustrated in FIG.6B.

When the closing member 70B is pushed into the injection port 43, theclaw portions 731B and 741B are engaged with the portions to be hooked45A and 45B in a snap-fit manner, and the closing member 70B is disposedin the injection port 43.

With this configuration, when the foaming resin material 51 injectedinto the cavity 40A is foamed in the manufacturing of the thermalinsulating profile 2B, a foaming pressure applied to the engagingprotrusions 73B and 74B of the closing member 70B from the foaming resinmaterial 51 can be dispersed. Thus, the possibility of the occurrence ofresin cracks in the closing member 70B due to the foaming pressure canbe reduced.

Fourth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 6C, a thermal insulating profile 2C according to afourth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 2C is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 1 according to the first embodiment, butincludes a closing member 70C instead of the closing member 60.

The closing member 70C includes a closing body portion 71C disposed atthe injection port 43, and a hooking portion 72C that is hooked to theportions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 andthe second profile portion 30.

The closing body portion 71C is configured similarly to the closing bodyportion 61 in the first embodiment.

The hooking portion 72C is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions73C and 74C. At distal end portions of the engaging protrusions 73C and74C, claw portions 731C and 741C to be engaged with the portions to behooked 45A and 45B are formed, respectively.

A surface of the closing member 70C between the engaging protrusions 73Cand 74C is formed into an arc shape that is concave toward the extendedpiece portions 42A and 42B.

When the closing member 70C is pushed into the injection port 43, theclaw portions 731C and 741C are engaged with the portions to be hooked45A and 45B in a snap-fit manner, and the closing member 70C is disposedin the injection port 43.

With this configuration, when the foaming resin material 51 injectedinto the cavity 40A in the manufacturing of the thermal insulatingprofile 2C is foamed, a foaming pressure applied to the closing member70C from the foaming resin material 51 can be dispersed. Thus, thepossibility of the occurrence of resin cracks in the closing member 70Cdue to the foaming pressure can be reduced.

Fifth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, a thermal insulating profile 3according to a fifth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the thermal insulating profile 3 is formedsubstantially similarly to the thermal insulating profile 1 according tothe first embodiment, but includes a closing member 80 instead of theclosing member 60.

The closing member 80 includes a plate-shaped closing body portion 81disposed at the injection port 43, and a hooking portion 82 that ishooked to the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profileportion 20 and the second profile portion 30. The closing member 80 isconfigured substantially similarly to the closing member 60 in the firstembodiment, but has dimensions that are set differently from the closingmember 60.

The hooking portion 82 is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions 83and 84 that are elastically deformable. At distal end portions of theengaging protrusions 83 and 84, claw portions 83A and 84A to be engagedwith the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are formed, respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 7B, a protruding length dimension L1 of theengaging protrusion 83 between the closing body portion 81 and the clawportion 83A is larger than the thickness dimension of the portion to behooked 45A. A protruding length dimension L2 of the engaging protrusion84 between the closing body portion 81 and the claw portion 84A islarger than the thickness dimension of the portion to be hooked 45B. Theprotruding length dimensions L1 and L2 of the engaging protrusions 83and 84 are equal to each other.

A dimension W1 between distal ends of the claw portions 83A and 84Aalong the width direction of the injection port 43 is larger than awidth dimension W2 of the injection port 43 between the portions to behooked 45A and 45B.

A dimension W3 from a surface of the engaging protrusion 83 that facesthe portion to be hooked 45A to a surface of the engaging protrusion 84that faces the portion to be hooked 45B is smaller than the widthdimension W2 of the injection port 43 between the portions to be hooked45A and 45B.

A width dimension W4 of the closing body portion 81 is smaller than awidth dimension W5 between the side edges of the extended piece portions41A and 41B excluding the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B.

When the closing member 80 is pushed into the injection port 43, theclaw portions 83A and 84A are engaged with the portions to be hooked 45Aand 45B in a snap-fit manner, and the closing member 80 is disposed inthe injection port 43 as illustrated in FIG. 7B.

When the foaming resin material 51 injected into the cavity 40A isfoamed, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, the air in the cavity 40A is releasedto the outside through the gap between the closing member 80 and theextended piece portion 41A and the gap between the closing member 80 andthe extended piece portion 41B. The closing member 80 is pushed out tothe outside by the foaming resin material 51, and when the claw portions83A and 84A of the closing member 80 abut on the portions to be hooked45A and 45B, the gap between the closing member 80 and the extendedpiece portion 41A and the gap between the closing member 80 and theextended piece portion 41B are closed, and the cavity 40A is sealed.

As described above, the air escaping gaps can be formed between theclosing member 80 and the first profile portion 20 and between theclosing member 80 and the second profile portion 30 in the non-abuttingstate in which the claw portions 83A and 84A of the engaging protrusions83 and 84 are separated from the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B ofthe first profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30. Thus,when the foaming resin material 51 is foamed, the air can be efficientlyescaped to the outside through the gaps, and the generation of air holes(air gaps) in the cavity 40A can be prevented, so that the foaming resinmaterial 51 can be evenly filled into the cavity 40A.

Sixth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 8A, a thermal insulating profile 4A according to asixth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 4A is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 1 according to the first embodiment, butincludes a closing member 90A instead of the closing member 60.

The closing member 90A includes a plate-shaped closing body portion 91Adisposed at the injection port 43, and a hooking portion 92A that ishooked to the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profileportion 20 and the second profile portion 30.

The hooking portion 92A is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions93A and 94A that are elastically deformable. At distal end portions ofthe engaging protrusions 93A and 94A, claw portions 931A and 941A to beengaged with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are formed,respectively.

In the closing member 90A, a backing protrusion 95A that protrudes fromthe closing body portion 91A between the engaging protrusions 93A and94A is formed. The backing protrusion 95A is disposed with gaps from theengaging protrusions 93A and 94A. The backing protrusion 95A is formedto be thinner on the base end side than on the distal end side, andhence air escaping grooves 96A are formed between a distal end portionof the backing protrusion 95A and the closing body portion 91A. A partof the closing body portion 91A between the engaging protrusions 93A and94A is formed to be thinner than a part of the closing body portion 91Aother than the part between the engaging protrusions 93A and 94A, andhence an air escaping space is expanded between the engaging protrusions93A and 94A.

With this configuration, when the foaming resin material 51 is foamedand enters between the engaging protrusions 93A and 94A and the backingprotrusion 95A to cure, the foaming resin material 51 serves as abacking member that receives the engaging protrusions 93A and 94A. Byforming the backing member in this manner, the closing member 90A can bemore firmly hooked to the first profile portion 20 and the secondprofile portion 30.

When the foaming resin material 51 is foamed, the air can be escapedinto the above-mentioned air escaping grooves 96A, and hence the foamingresin material 51 can be efficiently foamed. Thus, the foaming resinmaterial 51 can be evenly filled into the cavity 40A.

Seventh Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 8B, a thermal insulating profile 4B according to aseventh embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 4B is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 4A according to the sixth embodiment, butincludes a closing member 90B in which the air escaping grooves 96A forthe closing member 90A are different.

In FIG. 8B, the same components in the closing member 90B as those inthe closing member 90A are denoted by the same reference symbols asthose in the closing member 90A.

Air escaping grooves 96B for the closing member 90B are formed to bethinner on the base end side of the backing protrusion 95A than on thedistal end side thereof, and the grooves are expanded from the base endside of the backing protrusion 95A toward the distal end thereof. Thus,the closing member 90B can cause a larger amount of air to be escaped tothe air escaping grooves 96B than the closing member 90A in the sixthembodiment.

Eighth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 9A, a thermal insulating profile 5A according to aneighth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 5A is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 1 according to the first embodiment, butincludes a closing member 100 instead of the closing member 60.

The closing member 100 includes a closing body portion 101 disposed atthe injection port 43, and a hooking portion 102 that is hooked to theportions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 andthe second profile portion 30.

The closing body portion 101 is configured similarly to the closing bodyportion 61 in the first embodiment.

The hooking portion 102 is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions103 and 104 that are elastically deformable. At distal end portions ofthe engaging protrusions 103 and 104, claw portions 103A and 104A to beengaged with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are formed,respectively.

A part of the engaging protrusion 103 that abuts on the portion to behooked 45A of the first profile portion 20 is formed from a soft resinmaterial. A part of the engaging protrusion 104 that abuts on theportion to be hooked 45B of the second profile portion 30 is formed froma soft resin material.

The closing member 100 is formed from a hard resin material except forthe above-mentioned part formed from the soft resin material. Theclosing member 100 is molded to have two layers made of the soft resinmaterial and the hard resin material.

This configuration enables the parts of the engaging protrusion 103 and104 formed from the soft resin material to be brought into intimatecontact with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profileportion 20 and the second profile portion 30. By using the reactingproperty of the soft resin material, the sealing degree of the injectionport 43 by the closing member 100 can be improved.

Ninth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 9B, a thermal insulating profile 5B according to aninth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 5B is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 1 according to the first embodiment, butincludes a closing member 110 instead of the closing member 60.

As illustrated in FIG. 9B, the closing member 110 includes aplate-shaped closing body portion 111 disposed at the injection port 43,and a hooking portion 112 that is hooked to the portions to be hooked45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 and the second profileportion 30.

The hooking portion 112 is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions113 and 114 that are elastically deformable. At distal end portions ofthe engaging protrusions 113 and 114, claw portions 113A and 114A to beengaged with the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are formed,respectively.

A part of the closing member 110 that abuts on the extended pieceportion 41A of the first profile portion 20 is formed from a soft resinmaterial, and the closing member 110 is formed from a hard resinmaterial except for the part. The part formed from the soft resinmaterial is a part of the closing body portion 111 that is located onthe extended piece portion 41A side and a part of the engagingprotrusion 113 that is located on the portion to be hooked 45A side. Asurface of the part formed from the soft resin material that iscontinuous from the closing body portion 111 to the engaging protrusion113 is formed as an inclined surface 115 that is inclined with respectto the width direction of the closing member 110. The closing member 110is molded to have two layers made of the soft resin material and thehard resin material.

As illustrated in FIG. 9C, first, the engaging protrusion 113 of theclosing member 110 is inserted into the injection port 43 and is hookedto the portion to be hooked 45A. Because the above-mentioned inclinedsurface 115 is formed, the closing member 110 can be easily disposed tobe inclined with respect to the injection port 43. When the claw portion113A is formed to have a large protruding dimension along the widthdirection of the closing member 110, the engaging protrusion 113 can behooked deep to the portion to be hooked 45A even in the state in whichthe closing member 110 is inclined with respect to the injection port43, and hence the ease of positioning of the closing member 110 in thisstate can be improved. Next, the engaging protrusion 114 is pushed intothe injection port 43 and is hooked to the portion to be hooked 45B. Inthis manner, the closing member 110 is disposed in the injection port43.

As described above, a part of the closing member 110 that abuts on theportion to be hooked 45A is formed from a soft resin material, and apart of the closing member 110 that abuts on the portion to be hooked45B is formed from a hard resin material. Thus, while the part of theclosing member 110 that is formed from the soft resin material is pushedagainst the portion to be hooked 45A, the part of the closing member 110that is formed from the hard resin material can be pushed to the portionto be hooked 45B, and hence the closing member 110 can be easilypositioned when the closing member 110 is mounted. The closing member110 can be easily mounted with a small force.

The part of the closing member 110 that is formed from the soft resinmaterial reacts against the portion to be hooked 45A, and hence the partof the closing member 110 that is formed from the hard resin material ispushed against the portion to be hooked 45B. Thus, the sealing degree bywhich the injection port 43 is closed by the closing member 110 can beimproved.

Tenth Embodiment

Referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B, a thermal insulating profile 6 accordingto a tenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

As illustrated in FIG. 10A, the thermal insulating profile 6 is formedsubstantially similarly to the thermal insulating profile 1 according tothe first embodiment, but includes a closing member 118 instead of theclosing member 60.

The closing member 118 is configured similarly to the closing member 60according to the first embodiment, but is formed from a resin having anopen-cell structure, and cells (open cells) are continuous from theinner surface on the cavity 40A side to the outer surface on theexterior side.

Thus, when the foaming resin material 51 injected into the cavity 40A isfoamed, air in the cavity 40A is released to the outside through theopen cells as illustrated in FIG. 10B. The foaming resin material 51enters the open cells halfway as illustrated in FIG. 10A, and the cavity40A is sealed. In this manner, the air in the cavity 40A can be escapedto the outside through the open cells.

Eleventh Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 11A, a thermal insulating profile 11A according to aneleventh embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 11A is configured substantially similarlyto the thermal insulating profile 1 according to the first embodiment,but includes a sliding type closing member 140A instead of the snap-fittype closing member 60.

The closing member 140A includes a closing body portion 141 disposed atthe injection port 43, and a hooking portion that is hooked to theportions to be hooked 45A and 45B of the first profile portion 20 andthe second profile portion 30.

A hollow portion is formed in the closing body portion 141. The outersurface of the closing body portion 141 exposed from the injection port43 is subjected to finishing treatment, and the outer surface isdisposed to be flush with the outer surfaces of the extended pieceportions 41A and 41B.

The hooking portion is formed from insertion piece portions 143 and 144that extend in the lateral direction in FIG. 11A. The insertion pieceportions 143 and 144 are disposed with a gap in the vertical directionfrom a corresponding one of both lateral edge portions of the closingbody portion 141. The portions to be hooked 45A and 45B are disposed inthe gaps.

The closing member 140A is slidingly inserted to the injection port 43from one end portion of the aluminum profile 10 in the longitudinaldirection. Then, the insertion piece portions 143 and 144 are disposedin the cavity 40A, the closing body portion 141 is disposed in theinjection port 43, and the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B aredisposed in the gaps between the insertion piece portions 143 and 144and both edge portions of the closing body portion 141.

The sliding type closing member 140A as described above can also closethe injection port 43.

Twelfth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 11B, a thermal insulating profile 11B according to atwelfth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 11B is configured substantially similarlyto the thermal insulating profile 11A according to the eleventhembodiment, but includes a closing member 140B instead of the closingmember 140A. The closing member 140B is configured substantiallysimilarly to the closing member 140A, but the closing member 140B isformed such that the vertical thickness of both lateral edge portions ofthe closing body portion 141 are smaller than that of both edge portionsof the closing member 140A. The closing member 140B is formed such thatvertical gaps between both lateral edge portions of the closing member140B and the insertion piece portions 143 and 144 are larger than thevertical gaps between both lateral edge portions of the closing member140A and the insertion piece portions 143 and 144.

Thus, when the foaming resin material 51 in the cavity 40A is foamed,the thermal insulating profile 11B is located at a lowered position, andhence air can be escaped to the outside through gaps between the firstprofile portion 20 and the portion to be hooked 45A and between thesecond profile portion 30 and the portion to be hooked 45B.

After the foaming resin material 51 is foamed and cures, the insertionpiece portion 143,144 and the portions to be hooked 45A and 45B comeinto intimate contact with each other, and hence the injection port 43can be closed.

Thirteenth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 12A, a thermal insulating profile 12A according to athirteenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 12A includes a first profile portion 20,a second profile portion 30, and a closing member 150A. The firstprofile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30 include, asportions to be hooked, concave groove forming portions 48A and 48Bformed at edges of the extended piece portions 41A and 41B instead ofthe portions to be hooked 45A and 45B in the above-mentioned firstembodiment.

The closing member 150A includes a closing body portion 151 disposed atthe injection port 43, and a hooking portion 152 that is hooked to theconcave groove forming portion 48A of the first profile portion 20 andthe concave groove forming portion 48B of the second profile portion 30.In FIG. 12A, the hooking portion 152 includes engaging protrusions 153and 154 that protrude from the closing body portion 151 in the lateraldirection.

Also in the thermal insulating profile 12A, the injection port 43 can beclosed by engaging the engaging protrusions 153 and 154 of the closingmember 150A with the concave groove forming portions 48A and 48B of thefirst profile portion 20 and the second profile portion 30.

Fourteenth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 12B, a thermal insulating profile 12B according to afourteenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

Substantially similarly to the thirteenth embodiment, the thermalinsulating profile 12B includes a first profile portion 20 and a secondprofile portion 30 having concave groove forming portions 49A and 49B asportions to be hooked, respectively, and a closing member 150B.

Substantially similarly to the closing member 150A, the closing member150B includes a closing body portion 161 and a hooking portion 162 thatis hooked to the concave groove forming portion 49A of the first profileportion 20 and the concave groove forming portion 49B of the secondprofile portion 30. In FIG. 12B, the hooking portion 162 includesengaging protrusions 163 and 164 that protrude from the closing bodyportion 161 in the lateral direction.

Vertical thickness dimensions of the engaging protrusions 163 and 164are set to be smaller than vertical dimensions of concave grooves formedby the concave groove forming portions 49A and 49B, and gaps are formedbetween the engaging protrusions 163 and 164 and the concave grooveforming portions 49A and 49B in the vertical direction.

Thus, when the foaming resin material 51 in the cavity 40A is foamed,the thermal insulating profile 12B is located at a lowered position, andhence air can be escaped to the outside through the gaps between theengaging protrusions 163 and 164 of the thermal insulating profile 12Band the concave groove forming portions 49A and 49B.

After the foaming resin material 51 is foamed and cures, the engagingprotrusions 163 and 164 and the concave groove forming portions 49A and49B come into intimate contact with each other, and hence the injectionport 43 can be closed.

Fifteenth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 13A, a thermal insulating profile 13A according to afifteenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

Substantially similarly to the first embodiment, the thermal insulatingprofile 13A includes a first profile portion 20 and a second profileportion 30 having portions to be hooked 45A and 45B, respectively, buthas a closing member 170A instead of the closing member 60.

The closing member 170A includes a closing body portion 171 disposed atthe injection port 43, and engaging protrusions 63 and 64 (the sameengaging protrusions as in the first embodiment) as hooking portionsthat protrude from the closing body portion 171.

A hollow portion 172 is formed in the closing body portion 171. Thehollow portion 172 communicates to the cavity 40A through a hole 173formed in the closing body portion 171 on the cavity 40A side.

By forming the hole 173 in the closing body portion 171, the foamingresin material 51 to be foamed can be escaped to the hollow portion 172to prevent the generation of air holes, and the foaming resin material51 can be evenly filled into the cavity 40A. By forming the hole 173connected to the hollow portion 172, the foaming pressure of the foamingresin material 51 can be reduced. For example, the filling ratio of thefoaming resin material 51 with respect to the cavity 40A can be set tobe 70% or more. The resin density of the molded thermal insulatingmaterial 50 can be increased to improve the strength. In addition, thepressure applied to the closing member 170A when the foaming resinmaterial 51 is foamed is decreased, and hence the closing member 170Acan be thinned to reduce the cost for the closing member 170A itself.

Sixteenth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 13B, a thermal insulating profile 13B according to asixteenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 13B has substantially the same as thethermal insulating profile 13A according to the fifteenth embodiment,but includes a closing member 170B instead of the closing member 170A.

The closing member 170B is formed substantially similarly to the thermalinsulating profile 11B according to the twelfth embodiment, but a hole173 for communicating a hollow portion 142 of the closing body portion141 to the cavity 40A is formed.

As described above, when the foaming resin material 51 in the cavity 40Ais foamed, the thermal insulating profile 13B enables air to be releasedthrough gaps between the first profile portion 20 and the closing member170B and the second profile portion 30 and the closing member 170Bsimilarly to the thermal insulating profile 11B according to the twelfthembodiment. Similarly to the thermal insulating profile 13A according tothe fifteenth embodiment, the foaming resin material 51 can be escapedinto the hollow portion 142 through the hole 173. Thus, theabove-mentioned functions and effects in the twelfth and fifteenthembodiments can be exhibited.

Seventeenth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 14, a thermal insulating profile 7 according to aseventeenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

In FIG. 14, the thermal insulating profile 7 includes a first profileportion 20A on the outdoor side, a second profile portion 30A on theindoor side, and a thermal insulating material 50 made of a foamingresin material that couples the first profile portion 20A and the secondprofile portion 30A to each other.

The first profile portion 20A and the second profile portion 30A areformed by dividing (partitioning) an aluminum profile 10A into anoutdoor member and an indoor member, respectively. A cavity 40A isformed between the first profile portion 20A and the second profileportion 30A.

The first profile portion 20A includes a side piece portion 21A and adrooping piece portion 22A that droops from the side piece portion 21A.A screw hole portion 23A is formed at a part where the side pieceportion 21A and the drooping piece portion 22A are continuous. A distalend portion of the drooping piece portion 22A forms a portion to behooked 25A that is extended to the indoor side.

The second profile portion 30A includes a side piece portion 31A and araising piece portion 32A that is raised from the side piece portion31A. An end portion of the side piece portion 31A on the outdoor sideforms a portion to be hooked 35A.

The injection port 43 is formed between the portions to be hooked 25Aand 35A. When the aluminum profile 10A is divided into the first profileportion 20A and the second profile portion 30A, the raising pieceportion 32A is cut away from the first profile portion 20A, and a gap 44is formed between the raising piece portion 32A and an end portion ofthe side piece portion 21A on the indoor side.

In the injection port 43 illustrated in FIG. 14, a closing member 120 isdisposed. The closing member 120 includes a closing body portion 121disposed at the injection port 43, and a hooking portion 122 that ishooked to the portions to be hooked 25A and 35A of the first profileportion 20A and the second profile portion 30A.

The closing body portion 121 is configured similarly to the closing bodyportion 61 in the first embodiment.

The hooking portion 122 is formed from a pair of engaging protrusions123 and 124 that are elastically deformable. The engaging protrusions123 and 124 are formed similarly to the engaging protrusions 63 and 64in the first embodiment.

On the closing member 120, an abutment piece portion 125 that protrudesfrom the closing body portion 121 between the engaging protrusions 123and 124 is formed. The abutment piece portion 125 has a protrudinglength dimension larger than protruding length dimensions of theengaging protrusions 123 and 124. As illustrated in FIG. 14, theabutment piece portion 125 abuts on the screw hole portion 23A of thefirst profile portion 20A in the state in which the closing member 120is disposed in the injection port 43. The cavity 40A is partitioned intoa thermal insulating space 46A and a hollow space 47A by theabove-mentioned abutment piece portion 125.

In this manner, the cavity 40A is partitioned into the thermalinsulating space 46A and the hollow space 47A by the abutment pieceportion 125 of the closing member 120, and hence the screw hole portion23A may be formed in the hollow space 47A. When the screw hole portion23A is formed, the thermal insulating material 50 that couples the firstprofile portion 20A and the second profile portion 30A to each other canbe disposed near the screw hole portion 23A.

Eighteenth Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 15, a thermal insulating profile 8 according to aneighteenth embodiment of the disclosure is described below.

The thermal insulating profile 8 is formed substantially similarly tothe thermal insulating profile 7 according to the seventeenthembodiment, but the hooking shape of a closing member 130 to a firstprofile portion 20B and a second profile portion 30B is different.

The thermal insulating profile 8 includes a first profile portion 20B onthe outdoor side, a second profile portion 30B on the indoor side, and athermal insulating material 50 made of a foaming resin material thatcouples the first profile portion 20B and the second profile portion 30Bto each other.

The first profile portion 20B and the second profile portion 30B areformed by dividing (partitioning) an aluminum profile 10B into anoutdoor member and an indoor member, respectively. A cavity 40A isformed between the first profile portion 20B and the second profileportion 30B.

The first profile portion 20B includes a side piece portion 21B and adrooping piece portion 22B that droops from the side piece portion 21B.A screw hole portion 23B is formed at a part the side piece portion 21Band the drooping piece portion 22B are continuous. A portion to behooked 25B is formed on a surface of the drooping piece portion 22B onthe screw hole portion 23B side. A portion to be hooked 26B is formed onthe screw hole portion 23B as well.

The second profile portion 30B includes a side piece portion 31B and araising piece portion 32B that is raised from the side piece portion31B. An end portion of the side piece portion 31B on the outdoor sideforms a portion to be hooked 35B.

The injection port 43 is formed between a distal end portion of thedrooping piece portion 22B and the portion to be hooked 35B. When thealuminum profile 10B is divided into the first profile portion 20B andthe second profile portion 30B, the raising piece portion 32B is cutaway from the first profile portion 20B, and a gap 44 is formed betweenan end portion of the side piece portion 21B on the indoor side.

In the injection port 43 illustrated in FIG. 15, a closing member 130 isdisposed. The closing member 130 includes a plate-shaped closing bodyportion 131 disposed at the injection port 43, and a hooking portion 132that is hooked to the portions to be hooked 25B and 35B of the firstprofile portion 20B and the second profile portion 30B.

The hooking portion 132 includes an engaging protrusion 133 thatprotrudes from an end portion of the closing body portion 131 on thefirst profile portion 20B side, an engaging portion 134 that is formedat an end portion of the closing body portion 131 on the second profileportion 30B side, and an abutment piece portion 135 that protrudes fromthe closing body portion 131 between the engaging protrusion 133 and theengaging portion 134. An engaging portion 136 is formed at a distal endportion of the abutment piece portion 135.

The engaging protrusion 133 is engaged with the portion to be hooked25B, the engaging portion 134 is engaged with the portion to be hooked35B, and the engaging portion 136 of the abutment piece portion 135 isengaged with the portion to be hooked 26B of the screw hole portion 23B.The cavity 40A is partitioned into a thermal insulating space 46B and ahollow space 47B by the above-mentioned abutment piece portion 135.

In this manner, the abutment piece portion 135 of the closing member 130partitions the cavity 40A into the thermal insulating space 46B and thehollow space 47B, and hence the screw hole portion 23B may be formed inthe hollow space 47B. When the screw hole portion 23B is formed, thethermal insulating material 50 that couples the first profile portion20B and the second profile portion 30B to each other can be disposednear the screw hole portion 23B.

Modifications

The disclosure is not limited to the configurations described above inthe above-mentioned embodiments, and such modifications that can achievethe object of the disclosure are included in the disclosure.

For example, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the metal profile isthe aluminum profile 10, 10A, or 10B formed from an aluminum extrudedprofile. Without being limited thereto, the metal profile may be made ofiron, steel, stainless steel, or magnesium.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the foaming resin material 51 whoseexpansion ratio in the free state is 3 to 5 is injected into the cavity40A at a filling ratio of 50% to 60%. Without being limited thereto, theexpansion ratio and the filling ratio may be freely selected as long asa finished state defect and a resin strength defect do not occur in thethermal insulating material 50. For example, a foaming resin material 51whose expansion ratio in the free state is less than 3 or more than 5may be injected into the cavity 40A depending on the metal material ofthe metal profile or the thickness dimension of a part of the metalprofile in which the cavity 40A is formed. The filling ratio of thefoaming resin material 51 with respect to the cavity 40A may be lessthan 50% or more than 60%.

The thermal insulating profile 1 according to the above-mentionedembodiments is used as, for example, a frame member and a stile memberfor various kinds of sash windows in a building, such as a doublesliding window, a single sliding window, a casement window, an awningwindow, an inward swinging window, an outward swinging window, a doublehung window, an inward opening window, and an outward opening window,and also used as a frame member for construction members, such as a doorand a louver.

The disclosure can provide a thermal insulating profile that can employa thermal insulating material formed from a foaming resin material, thatcan eliminate burden of finishing a surface part exposed from aninjection port, and that can increase the number of variations of thefinished state of the surface part.

Although the disclosure has been described with respect to specificembodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein setforth.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermal insulating profile, comprising: a first profile portion made of metal; a second profile portion made of metal; a thermal insulating material made of a foaming resin material, the thermal insulating material being configured to couple the first profile portion and the second profile portion to each other; an injection port formed, along a longitudinal direction of the thermal insulating profile, between the first profile portion and the second profile portion; and a closing member disposed at the injection port to close the injection port.
 2. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 1, wherein the thermal insulating material is formed of a foaming resin material having an expansion ratio of 3 to
 5. 3. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 1, wherein the first profile portion and the second profile portion each include a portion to hooked, and the closing member includes a closing body portion disposed at the injection port and a hooking portion configured to be hooked to portions to be hooked of the first profile portion and the second profile portion.
 4. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 3, wherein the hooking portion includes engaging protrusions that are elastically deformable, and the engaging protrusions include distal end portions provided with claw portions to be engaged with the portions to be hooked of the first profile portion and the second profile portion.
 5. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 4, wherein the hooking portion has a pair of the engaging protrusions, a protruding length dimension of the pair of the engaging protrusions between the closing body portion and the claw portions is larger than a thickness dimension of the portions to be hooked of the first profile portion and the second profile portion, a dimension from a surface of one of the pair of the engaging protrusions that faces the portion to be hooked to a surface of another of the pair of the engaging protrusions that faces the portion to be hooked is smaller than a width dimension of the injection port, and a dimension between distal ends of the claw portions along a width direction of the injection port is larger than the width dimension of the injection port.
 6. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 4, wherein the closing member includes a backing protrusion for the engaging protrusions, the backing protrusion protruding from the closing body portion.
 7. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 6, wherein an air escaping groove is formed between the engaging protrusions and the closing body portion.
 8. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 4, wherein a part of the engaging protrusions that abuts on the portions to be hooked of the first profile portion and the second profile portion is formed from a soft resin material, and the closing member is formed from a hard resin material except for the part formed from the soft resin material.
 9. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 3, wherein a part of the closing member that abuts on a portion to be hooked of one of the first profile portion and the second profile portion is formed from a soft resin material, and a part of the closing member that abuts on a portion to be hooked of another of the first profile portion and the second profile portion is formed from a hard resin material.
 10. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 1, wherein open cells that are continuous from an inner surface on a thermal insulating material side to an outer surface on an exterior side are formed in the closing member.
 11. The thermal insulating profile according to claim 1, wherein a cavity is formed between the first profile portion and the second profile portion, the closing member includes an abutment piece portion configured to abut on the first profile portion or the second profile portion in the cavity, and the abutment piece portion is configured to partition the cavity into a thermal insulating space in which the thermal insulating material is disposed and a hollow space. 